Genius
That John Nash is actually deserving a term that gets tossed around willy-nilly to the point that it has almost become meaningless is beyond doubt. From an early age, Nash exhibits a manner of thinking that is far outside the norm and a level of intellect that intimidates even others possessing genius-level IQ scores. What the book seeks to pursue in its examination of the nature of genius is not the usual Mozart-like stuff about appearances being deceptive, but rather how—rather than if—Nash’s genius and his schizophrenia originate from the same source. The question that an attentive and curious reader must inevitably contemplate is whether Nash’s intellectual superiority would—or could—have manifested without there also being the lingering time bomb of spiraling into the deterioration of schizophrenia. In other words, could Nash have been a genius without being schizophrenic and, if so, was there also the possibility that he might have become schizophrenic without being a genius.
Does Character Influence Content?
Nash’s groundbreaking contribution to the mathematics of economic story is what came to be known as the Nash equilibrium which becomes and essential component in the development of game theory. As the name suggest, game theory is inextricably related to the economics of competition and as the biography plays out, Nash is portrayed as intensely competitive in nearly every aspect of life. Thus is raised another interesting question for the reader to ponder: did Nash obsessively pursue the mechanics of game theory because he was naturally competitive or did his competitive nature evolve into an obsessive character trait because he emotionally influenced by the path his logical mind was pursuing?
Perceptual Reality
Schizophrenia is a mental condition that is symptomatically marked by hallucinations. (Though almost always auditory in nature rather than actually seeing things are portrayed in the film adaptation for dramatic purposes.) As Nash slips further into the nightmarish landscape of schizophrenia, greatest hit it on his perceptual abilities to distinguish between reality and illusion. As a result, he becomes increasingly paranoid and delusional. While terrifying, this aspect of his schizophrenia is actually not entirely removed from the way his mind operated while at the peak of his intellectual powers. Nash’s mathematical genius also lay—in a sense—in seeing things which others did not. Nash demonstrated an astonishing ability for detecting patterns and detecting a logical sense of order where others saw only chaos and disorder.
